Love Peace and love: God is also the God of the 60's!
Mathias Bavay
2007-02-26
Abstract:
In this document, we will see how love is important for Christianity as well as some elements of a definition and as a consequence its impact on a true Christian life.
the foundation that makes true Christian faith unique is love. The Christian faith is the only religion that puts love before deeds and declares that every effort is void if not done in love (1Cor 13:1-3, Lk 11:42, 1Jn 4:16-21, 1Jn 3:10, 1Jn 3:14, 1Jn 4:7-12)
loving our neighbour is greater than religious practise (Mk 12:33)
Love flows from God to Men, and it should flow from Men to God and from Men to Men
the center of the faith is not the individual himself, but God (as true love is not self-centered: Jn 15:13, 1Jn 3:16). cf De 6:5, Mt 22:37-38, Jn 15:12
giving testimony of the Law, of righteousness, obedience... without showing love is not giving testimony of Christ! Preaching about purity, holiness, piety without preaching love is not preaching Christ!
it seems easy to say that love matters more than all the above, but this is actualy much more difficult to live in truth: if you have to force yourself to show compassion, that means that you don't love your brother. If you have to force yourslef constantly to obey the Law, that means that you don't love God, nor His attributes.
We are commanded to live in love:
this is commanded and better than sacrifices (De 6:5, Mk 12:33)
this is the sum of the Law and the prophets (toward God and my neighbour) (Mt 22:37-38, Jam 2:8, 2Jn 1:5)
loving my neighbour is a vital part of my faith (Mt 22:40, 1Jn 4:11)
this should be what we pursue (1Tim 6:11, 2Tim 2:22, 1Pe 3:8)
even in a sacrificial way (Act 21:13)
with all the depth of its definition (1Cor 13:4-7)
even as Christ has loved us (Jn 13:34, Jn 15:12)
it should produce deeds (Jn 14:21, Ps 97:10, 1Jn 2:5, 1Jn 5:3)
we should encourage each other to grow in love (Heb 10:24)
steadfast love, mercy ("Hesed" in the OT). Applied for the covenant with Israel
sexual desire
The Scriptures show both the emotional and legal aspects (faithfulness, covenant)
the NT uses two words:
"phileo", for the love between friends. This is a very intense love, like between parents and kids (Mt 10:37 or Jn 5:20, between the Father and the Son)
"agape", an even wider love. This is seldomly used in profane Greek litterature but very often in the NT. It caries a spiritual and moral dimension as well as the idea of willingful love. This is the love God has for us (Jn 3:16, Rom 5:8), the one we should have toward others (Mt 22:39) and even the one we should have for our ennemies (Mt 5:44).
Jn 21:15-17:
Jesus is asking Peter if he loves Him, using "agape" ⇒ with the love we should manifest toward God.
Peter does not dare to use "agape" in his answer, he uses "phileo" to say that he loves Him (ie: he agrees on a more human love, like for a friend).
when asking for the third time, Jesus too uses "phileo".
hate: we are called to hate our parents and children (Lk 14:26). Why? This is an Hebrew construct: the Hebrews use a lot of oppositions in order to express a comparison. Instead of writing "love... more than..." they use "love/hate". The meaning of the passage here is really to love Christ more than parents and children.
God's love has direct consequences: compassion and grace. Grace is an expression of God's love. But what is "grace"1?
The word translated as "grace" is "charis" in Greek. This has a very wide range of meaning: it expresed the idea of joy, of charm (likeable), of gifts, of thankfullness... In 2Cor 8:9, the word is employed 10 times, every time refering to a different meaning (this verse should then differ between different translations, since the translator has a choice to make). Paul is playing with this wide range of meanings but also using it to convey some very specific ideas: (from ISBE) "Charis is the money given to the Jerusalemites by the Corinthians (2Co 8:19), it is the increase of goods that God will grant the Corinthians (2Co 9:8), it is the disposition of the givers (2Co 8:6), it is the power of God that has wrought this disposition (2Co 8:1; 9:14), it is the act of Christ in the Incarnation (2Co 8:9; contrast the distinction between "God's grace" and "Christs act" in Heb 2:9), it is the thanks that Paul renders (2Co 9:15)." All these meanings used alongside each other give us a picture of the width of "grace".
There is little diference between grace and Holy Spirit (compare Acts 6:5 and Acts 6:8 or Eph 4:7-13 and 1Cor 12:4-11, gift of the Spirit vs gift of grace or Zec 12:10).
grace is the divine influence on our heart! God's love saves us by grace (Eph 2:8, Rom 3:24, Tit 3:7, Act 15:11, 2Cor 8:9, Rom 3:24, Rom 11:6), but grace also transforms our hearts afterwards (Heb 13:9, 1Cor 3:9-10, 1Cor 15:10, 2Cor 1:12, 2Cor 4:15, Col 3:16), so we too can really love (1Th 4:9, Eph 4:22-24, Col 3:9-11).
a love that saves: we are saved by the love of God for us (Jn 3:16, Eph 2:4, Jn 15:13, Rom 5:8, Ga 2:20, Eph 5:2, 2Th 2:16, 1Tim 2:4, 1Jn 3:1). The word translated as grace (charis in Greek) means that this is an unmerited favor (Rom 11:5-6).
a love as a foundation/glue (Eph 3:17, Col 3:14, 1Jn 3:10) (cf section 1.2)
a love that forgives: cf the prodigal son. The way he acts toward his father is totally unacceptable in the society in which he is living: he is not the elder, so he should receive no inheritance at all. He should totally submit to his father, instead he is being totally rebelious. With such a behavior, he should be declared an outcast of his whole society (when his father will later declare that his son was dead, this is not a figure of speech: for far less than what he has done, people would reject him from their society and declare him dead (socially, he would cease to exist)). When he comes back, he should be rejected without any doubt (he is not the son of his father anymore). Instead, he is received with a warm welcome. That is love, this is forgiveness that does not look at how to dominate/retaliate using the Law, but forgiveness that is a self-sacrifice of love (such forgiveness can not be understood by the rest of the society, the father is himself taking a risk by appearing weak to the others). Instead of taking the Law to rightly condemn, the father is offering everything out of love and fully restoring his son (he is giving everything back to his son). When we justify our actions with the "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a touth", we act according to the Law (we do what is permitted by the Law), but we fail to show the forgiveness that comes from the love God expects us to show (this is His commandment: Mt 7:1-2, Mk 4:24, Mt 6:12, Mt 18:21-33).
a love that is generous (1Cor 16:1-4, cf the apostles commanded to only rely on the generosity of the people who will listen to them (Mk 6:7-11), cf the early church sharing everything together (Act 2:44, Act 4:32)), abundant (Ph 1:9, 1Th 3:12, 1Th 4:9-10, Rom 5:15, Rom 5:17) and that does not judge (we often do the opposite!). Christ gives me His love, without checking if I am loveable enough, or if I will do good use of it! There are no conditions on Christ's love, so our love for our neighbour should be also without any conditions/strings attached!
a love that frees (Christ says that we will keep his commandments because we love Him (Jn 14:15): this is not a condition or a way to prove that we love Him, but a consequence. Therefore, if we don't keep His commandments, this is a sure sign that we don't really love Him)
true love is liberating! It allows you to seek the pleasure and the joy of who you love while enjoying doing it! If you love your friend, is it a pain to visit him? So, if you feel like you have to go to God (by prayer, by fellowship), that means that you don't realy love God!
having to offer a gift to somebody that you don't like is very unpleasant: you must waste your time finding somthing, you must waste your money, you have no idea what to offer, and if it gets tricky to find the right gift, you will find more and more upset about it. On the other hand, for somebody you sincerly love, this is enjoyable: you often want to offer things just because you think the person would like it, everything nice, you want to give it as a gift, it is never too expensive (as long as you can afford it!), you don't mind spending time making or finding the right gift and you can not wait to offer it, because you are excited of bringing joy to that person. Offering the gift gets better than receiving one! The joy of the person you love is worth more than your own joy! (think about doing something very enjoyable when somebody you love dearly has not been able to make it: this is just totally tasteless!). This is how serving God and keeping His commandments (in their spirit) should look like!
when you love somebody, you also love what that person likes/is.
if you are encaged by the Law, if the Scriptures are not a source of freedom for you, that means that you don't live in love (ie: if you would like to do something but you have the feeling God is on your way, preventing you from enjoying life, that means that you are not living in love with God).
it also frees you from the snares of false doctrine (Eph 4:15), from wrongdoing (1Jn 2:10)
thus, we are not keeping the Law because we have too, but we are following the steps of Christ in joy, because of love. This is freedom! (Gal 5:1, Gal 5:13, Jam 1:25, 1Pe 2:16, Rom 6:15)
a love that blesses: Grace is the word that is used to expresse that, when somebody finds grace in the sight of God (ie: is likeable), he receives grace from God (ie: gifts, blessings). It draws a natural connection between the love that God has for somebody and the expession of that love throught action (blessing). It shows that love is not passive, this is intrinsically active (if somebody "finds grace in your sight", there is some action resulting from that). See 1Cor 15:10 "not I, but the grace of God which was with me [labored more abundantly]": the grace of God is a power, this is active and able to labor. Finally, keep in mind that being filled with the Holy Spirit is similar to be filled with grace! That means again that grace is acting. So, if you have love, let it be manifested in deeds! (1Jn 3:18, 1Cor 13:4-13)
4 How to manifest the love God wants to be found in us?
love comes by knowing! (this is not so much that you can force yourself to love God, but you can get to know Him beter and then you will definitely love Him!) (cf 1Jn 4:20)
the true Christian testimony is to love with the same love that God shows towards us (Mt 5:43-48, Rom 12:20, Gal 5:13, 1Tim 4:12, 2Tim 3:11)
by loving our brothers (1Jn 4:20, 1Jn 4:21, 1Jn 3:10)
by offering ourselves as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1), by giving and expecting nothing in return (Mt 5:40, Lk 6:27-29), by beeing like lambs sent for slaughter (Rom 8:36, Act 8:32, Lk 10:3), by forgiving, by showing to all the fruits of true, godly love!
by offering our love without any condition (did you remember reading that Christ put some conditions on you being saved or do you remember instead that this is a free gift? Do we consider ourselves greater than God to put conditions where God offered us a free gift?)
by removing what could prevent your love to express itself according to 1Cor 13:4-13! (if you don't want to do an act of love because it would be uncool/weird/shocking/inappropriate/..., you are in fact saying that God's commandement has less value than your own rule/self-esteem)
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scriptures are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Lk 11:42
But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
1Jn 4:16–21
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
We love because he first loved us.
If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1Jn 3:10
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
1Jn 3:14
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
1Jn 4:7–12
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
Mk 12:33
And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Jn 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.
1Jn 3:16
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
De 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Mt 22:37–38
And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
Jn 15:12
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
De 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Mk 12:33
And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Mt 22:37–38
And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
Jam 2:8
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
2Jn 1:5
And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
Mt 22:40
On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.
1Jn 4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1Tim 6:11
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
2Tim 2:22
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
1Pe 3:8
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Act 21:13
Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
1Cor 13:4–7
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Jn 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Jn 15:12
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Jn 14:21
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
Ps 97:10
O you who love the Lord, hate evil!He preserves the lives of his saints;he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
1Jn 2:5
but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him:
1Jn 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Heb 10:24
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Jn 5:20
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
Jn 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Rom 5:8
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Mt 22:39
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mt 5:44
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Jn 21:15–17
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs.
He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep.
He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me? and he said to him, Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.
Lk 14:26
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
2Cor 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
2Co 8:19
And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will.
2Co 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2Co 8:6
Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.
2Co 8:1
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,
2Co 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Heb 2:9
But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
2Co 9:15
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Acts 6:5
And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
Acts 6:8
And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Eph 4:7–13
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore it says,
When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,and he gave gifts to men.
(In saying, He ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?
He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
1Cor 12:4–11
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Zec 12:10
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
Eph 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Rom 3:24
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Tit 3:7
so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Act 15:11
But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.
2Cor 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Rom 3:24
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Rom 11:6
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Heb 13:9
Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
1Cor 3:9–10
For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
1Cor 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
2Cor 1:12
For our boast is this: the testimony of our conscience that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.
2Cor 4:15
For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Col 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
1Th 4:9
Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,
Eph 4:22–24
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Col 3:9–11
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Eph 2:4
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Jn 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.
Rom 5:8
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ga 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Eph 5:2
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
2Th 2:16
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
1Tim 2:4
who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1Jn 3:1
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Rom 11:5–6
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Eph 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Col 3:14
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
1Jn 3:10
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
Mt 7:1–2
Judge not, that you be not judged.
For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Mk 4:24
And he said to them, Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
Mt 6:12
and forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Mt 18:21–33
Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?
Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.
And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, Pay what you owe.
So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, Have patience with me, and I will pay you.
He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
Then his master summoned him and said to him, You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?
1Cor 16:1–4
Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
Mk 6:7–11
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—
but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.
And he said to them, Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.
And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.
Act 2:44
And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
Act 4:32
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
Ph 1:9
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,
1Th 3:12
and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
1Th 4:9–10
Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,
for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,
Rom 5:15
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
Rom 5:17
If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Jn 14:15
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Eph 4:15
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
1Jn 2:10
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
Gal 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Gal 5:13
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Jam 1:25
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
1Pe 2:16
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
Rom 6:15
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
1Cor 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
1Jn 3:18
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1Cor 13:4–13
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
A.4 How to manifest the love God wants to be found in us?
1Jn 4:20
If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
Mt 5:43–48
You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Rom 12:20
To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.
Gal 5:13
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
1Tim 4:12
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
2Tim 3:11
my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
1Jn 4:20
If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
1Jn 4:21
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1Jn 3:10
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
Lev 19:34
You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Lk 10:27–37
And he answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
And he said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
Jesus replied, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?
He said, The one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, You go, and do likewise.
Mt 22:37–39
And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mt 19:18
He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
Mt 5:44
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Lk 6:27–29
But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.
Rom 12:1
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Mt 5:40
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Lk 6:27–29
But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.
Rom 8:36
As it is written,
For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
Act 8:32
Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
Like a sheep he was led to the slaughterand like a lamb before its shearer is silent,so he opens not his mouth.
Lk 10:3
Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
1Cor 13:4–13
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.